With Seahawks training camp kicking off next week, Seahawks.com is counting down, in no particular order, 10 of the most intriguing storylines, position battles and players heading into the 2025 season. So far, we've looked at the return game, tight end, safety, the running game, linebacker and receiver, and today we turn our attention to cornerback. Check back tomorrow when we focus on the offensive line.

Key Cornerback Additions: Shaquill Griffin (free-agent signing), Shemar Jean-Charles (free-agent signing).

Key Cornerback Departures: Tre Brown (signed with 49ers), Artie Burns (signed with Dolphins).

Heading into training camp, there will be some interesting competitions and storylines to watch at training camp.

There's the No. 3 cornerback spot behind presumed starters Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen, a job held by Josh Jobe for much of last season, and one he will be the favorite to hold down after re-signing this offseason. Among those who might try to push for playing time there are veteran Shaquill Griffin, who signed with the Seahawks this offseason, returning to the team that drafted him in 2017, and 2024 fifth-round pick Nehemiah Pritchett, as well as a handful of other young players contending for roster spots and playing time. Adding a wrinkle to the competition for the No. 3 job at cornerback is the presence of rookie safety Nick Emmanwori, whose unique skillset could cause Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald to use more three-safety sets in 2025, which could affect the playing time of a third corner. And when it comes to camp storylines, there's also always the battle for spots on the 53-man roster that plays out every year.

Then, when it comes to Woolen, a Pro-Bowl selection as a rookie, there's the desire from Macdonald and company to get the very best out of him on an every-play basis after a few ups and downs last season.

"If he sat right here, he'd just tell you play-to-play focus on the checklist of what you need to do, play-in, play-out," Macdonald said earlier this offseason. "Riq had a heck of an offseason last year. I'm really excited about him. We all know what his strengths are, but when he's at his best, he really unlocks our defense, because he takes away the side of the field. We can push coverage away from him, so we're really excited about it, but we have to work together. Him and us as a coaching staff, make it come to life every day and then that's when the best version comes alive."

But when it comes to the overall performance of the defense in 2025, the biggest question might be this: just how much more can Macdonald and company get out of third-year corner Devon Witherspoon?

To be clear, that question is not meant to imply that Witherspoon hasn't done a heck of a lot in his first two seasons. He's a two-time Pro-Bowl selection whose play helps, as defensive coordinator Aden Durde put it last season, helps “build the identity” of the defense. But as Macdonald and Witherspoon have alluded to last season and during this offseason, there are opportunities for the versatile young corner to make more plays.

Witherspoon's versatility, physicality, intelligence and instincts make him a unique weapon for Macdonald to deploy. He can play outside cornerback or nickel, he has natural pass-rush instincts and he's physical enough to make plays as a box defender, often taking on bigger blockers and ballcarriers to make plays.

Witherspoon's rare combination of physical and mental gifts make him a player that, even when he's not directly making a play, allows others around him to make plays. Never was that more obvious than in last season's win over Arizona in which, on a fourth-and-one play, Witherspoon kept Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray from running for a first down, pressured Murray into making an inaccurate throw that was picked off by Coby Bryant, then ran down the field to throw a block that took out two Arizona players, helping clear the way for a 69-yard touchdown. Oh, and Witherspoon even worked a little taunting in as the play unfolded.

"It just embodies Spoon, doesn't it?" Durde said after that game. "He goes one way, then he reacts to a play, uses his football IQ that is off the chain, then he talks crap to someone, then he realizes, then he runs off and then he goes and throws a block, then talks crap to someone. It's just him. He's a ball of energy and he's so smart, he's a leader of our defense, and I just respect the hell out of him."

Plays like that, which don't show up in the stat sheet but help make those around him better, are why Macdonald has taken to calling Witherspoon a "force multiplier" and those will no doubt come in 2025 as well. Macdonald's goal, however, is to also find ways to help Witherspoon show up on the stat sheet, be it by recording more sacks as a blitzer or putting him in positions to get his hands on the ball in the secondary.

"I'll tell you what, this guy, talk about force multipliers on your football team — that is Devon Witherspoon,'' Macdonald said last season. "This guy, he's an elite competitor. He's a guy that hopefully, he's leading the charge for us for a long time here. This guy, we talked about this at length, but he's worth a shout-out. He's so intelligent, he can play all the multiple spots, all the energy we feed off this guy and how competitive he is. Plays the way we want to play.

"You kind of want to play him everywhere, and so that's probably my biggest compliment to him. It's trying to figure out how we can play him the best to make him affect the game. We're thinking through that lens, and frankly, it's nothing that he's not doing that's not creating production. You could probably put it on me to get him into better spots so he can go affect the game. But that's definitely a focus."

We'll have to wait to see what Macdonald has in store for one of his best players in 2025, but however Witherspoon's role evolves, he's up for the challenge.

"I don't know how Coach Mike is going to use me, but I just know whatever he needs me to do, I'm going to do it," Witherspoon said during offseason workouts.

And for as impressive as Witherspoon has been two years into his career, what might be the best development for Seattle's defense is the fact that he continues to grow despite that early success.

"I love him," Durde said during offseason workouts. "I really think he's taking a step. He's conscious of his game, he's trying to work on little things and trying to push himself. He has little goals that he wants to get. He's really pushing and intentional in every practice that he does. He's one of the real leaders of our defense."